Methods of Teaching

Small-group work (15 minutes)
As Student Teachers discuss their experiences with lecture, demonstration, and 
discussion strategies, they should list the features they think made these particular 
experiences useful and memorable on chart paper.
Reports from small groups (10 minutes)
Have each group post their chart on the wall or board. The class should spend 10 
minutes reviewing each other’s chart, in particular looking for similarities. If possible, 
leave the charts on the wall; at the end of week 8, Student Teachers can then compare 
what they have learnt during the week with their thoughts and beliefs prior to study-
ing these three strategies.

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UNIT 1
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 3
UNIT 6
UNIT 2
UNIT 7
ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION/B.ED. (HONS) ELEMENTARY
Learning about the unit project/assignment (15 minutes)
Assign the Student Teachers to one of six groups in which they will work for the remain-
ing sessions in this unit. Put six pieces of paper in an envelope; two each should be 
labelled ‘discussion’, ‘lecture’, and ‘demonstration’. Have one person from each group 
draw the group’s assignment (lecture, demonstration, or discussion) from the envelope. 
Explain that each group is responsible for the content of the lesson and any instructional 
activity that the group thinks will enhance the lesson. They will have the remainder of 
week 7 and all of week 8 to create the lessons, which should include questions. 
Be sure that Student Teachers understand that they are collectively responsible for the 
lesson, only one of them will teach it – and that person will be chosen on the day of 
the lesson. The next class session will be devoted to the study of cooperative learning, 
and group responsibility and individual responsibility within a group will be discussed. 
Finally, explain how this activity will be graded. Student Teachers will be graded by 
their peers using a checklist, and each group will be responsible for creating a check-
list for their group’s work. (They will practise creating checklists in the session 3 of 
this week.) All lessons can be taught during week 9. 
The class will probably have questions. Consider explaining that peer teaching practice 
is becoming increasingly popular in teacher education programmes. It lends itself to 
reflective discussion because the ‘peer students’ are also learning to think like teachers.